[Alessi]

As a fan of the show I really wanted this ITV incarnation to work. They've got a lot right, however there are some major flaws. The hosts just don't work unfortunately. Quite a hard thing to pinpoint why, however they just don't have that special blend of being fair yet warm - something that is much needed for the exit interviews. Watched one of tonight's interviews and it felt really uncomfortable, to the point where it feels like Will and AJ are actually being quite cruel to the housemate. Davina and Emma had that warmth and felt like they were real fans of the show themselves (as did Rylan).

ITV also needs to work out how it gets out of the live eviction shows - rushing the housemate down the stairs as the hosts quickly wrap up the show is not a good look.

[Flux]

I think it is still hard for people to understand how overnight ratings work now in 2024, that the audience is simply not there and it is unlikely to change.

I remember a time when shows would get 8 to 10 million watching a mid week prime time 9pm show on BBC 1 or ITV, those days are long gone, and I doubt will ever return, the audience is too fractured and also people's style of watching TV has changed, we are now used to watching clips of shows on YouTube.

This is shown with the late night talk shows in the US, where once Johnny Carson's Tonight Show could command a nightly audience of around 9 to 12 million viewers a night, often peaking at 19 to 20 million for big occasions, now in 2024, the late night talk shows are lucky to squeeze past the 2 to 3 million mark on a big occasion, for example last week, one of Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show just got 1.2 million watching.

This is probably a bigger conversation, but in general I feel the number of views/likes/clicks the social clips get is slowly becoming more important than the actual ratings of a show. As reels, clips and short form content can be monetised and are reaching more people I think some productions already treat what should be the main product (i.e. The show!) as a vessel to facilitate headlines or short social edits, with more focus or pressure put on chasing social likes than actually making a strong programme. Of course that’s not true of every programme, but the likes of Big Brother do feed into that trend directly and - as long as the channel can monetise clips etc effectively - I can see shows like BB being kept on air in future purely for their short form popularity, even if the “main” show continues to dip.

[Brekkie]

Whilst generally speaking you're right about short form clips in the case of Big Brother they probably generate far fewer now than they did 20 years ago, generally putting out one or two preview clips a day and a handful during the show.

In the days when the show had it's own website and then in the early years of YouTube, straddling the end of BB on C4 and initial years on C5, they seemed to push out far more short form video content.

[Flux]

Whilst generally speaking you're right about short form clips in the case of Big Brother they probably generate far fewer now than they did 20 years ago, generally putting out one or two preview clips a day and a handful during the show.

In the days when the show had it's own website and then in the early years of YouTube, straddling the end of BB on C4 and initial years on C5, they seemed to push out far more short form video content.

That surprises me. I don't follow bbuk online so I just assumed they'd be chasing likes and reactions via short clips and edits more than most shows given the constant feed they could pull from. Feels like a real missed opportunity as that's surely where this kind of show can grab attention these days.

[freeview87]

That surprises me. I don't follow bbuk online so I just assumed they'd be chasing likes and reactions via short clips and edits more than most shows given the constant feed they could pull from. Feels like a real missed opportunity as that's surely where this kind of show can grab attention these days.

I used to think it was cutbacks in the C5 era but now im on the belief its purely for control why they don't update daily whats going on in the house. It takes very little effort to edit a 1min clip from a stream they are already uploading.

[orange]

I think they try a bit more with TikTok now - it’s probably nowhere as good as it could be though. I suppose they’re using what they have budget wise.

I think the cracks are showing a bit more with this series - with the civilian one the hosts improved a bit and settled in as they got further in, but with this series being so short I feel like all we’re seeing is teething problems. I think AJ and Will would work better as the side show hosts now - the main show doesn’t need two hosts and their awkwardness combined with the production’s awkwardness is a bit nauseating and it needs a massive push in the right direction. The whole vibe of the show just feels a bit lost - it feels like the Channel 5 version wearing ITV lipstick.

I’m still enjoying it - it has the potential to become water cooler TV again. However i’m finding everyone I’ve spoken to it IRL about it is seemingly going off it, and I think it’s because the whole thing is just ridiculously saccharin and awkward and uncool.

[UTVLifer]

I wouldn't want them to give up on AJ and Will just yet, yes they both have their teething issues but I'm sure ITV are prepared to give them time, given how much they have pushed them as the faces of the brand

The endings to the eviction shows are quite messy at the moment, would probably do better with AJ on her own doing the announcement whilst Will waits for the evictee in the L&L studio.

[darrenlit94]

I like Will he basically holds it together. If he was on his own or with a more competent female presenter I think it would be a lot better.

[Brekkie]

Not watched this series since the launch but do think both AJ and Will are very good, though sometimes stronger apart than together - and I pretty much flip on which one is better each time I see them host solo. If you were to split them I'd favour AJ for the main shows and Will for the side show.

I do think it's a shame they kept the outside crowd set up for the revival when the opportunity was there to switch things up with the studio so close to the house, although I'm someone who has been calling for the axing of the baying mob since the latter C4 days really. Whilst some fans love it I've never been a fan of the "Get .... Out" chanting or the booing for the sake of booing, and with this house I do think giving more space over to the garden would be more beneficial, although they have used the space they've got well.


The biggest issue though with the revival and the structure of the eviction shows has been not including the interviews in the show itself - seems pretty pointless to have extended the eviction shows to 90 minutes and then do the interviews afterwards.

[orange]

Very sure I’ve said it on here before during the previous series but I think the ideal setup with those two would be AJ on the main show and Will on BBLL, with AJ joining Will on BBLL on eviction nights.

Neither of them have been really jumping out for me this series, but I do think they flourish more when they’re given more breathing room script wise - I think AJ is especially good when she has to ad lib things and show more of her personality but I don’t think either of them are given a chance and the autocue takes the wheel most of the time.